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Napoleon's Privates: 2,500 Years of History Unzipped
 
 
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Napoleon's Privates: 2,500 Years of History Unzipped [Hardcover]

Tony Perrottet (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)

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Book Description

July 1, 2008

When Tony Perrottet heard that Napoleon's "baguette" had been stolen by his disgruntled doctor a few days after the Emperor's death, he rushed out to New Jersey. Why? Because that's where an eccentric American collector who had purchased Napoleon's member at a Parisian auction now kept the actual relic in an old suitcase under his bed.

The story of Napoleon's privates triggered Perrottet's quest to research other such exotic sagas from history, to discover the actual evidence behind the most famous age-old mysteries: Did Churchill really send condoms of a surprising size to Stalin? Were champagne glasses really molded upon Marie Antoinette's breasts? What was JFK's real secret service? What were Casanova's best pickup lines? Napoleon's Privates is filled with offbeat, riotously entertaining anecdotes that are guaranteed to amaze, shock, and enliven any dinner party.


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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Combining a wealth of vivid details with a knack for narrative pacing and subtle humor, Perrottet (Pagan Holiday) renders a striking portrayal of the Greek Olympics and their role in the ancient world…It’s an entertaining, edifying account that puts a human face on one of humanity’s most remarkable spectacles.” (Publishers Weekly on The Naked Olympics )

“Brimming with humor, adventure, anecdotal tidbits, and fascinating historical information, this delightful travelogue offers a unique twist on some classic journeys.” (Booklist on Pagan Holiday )

“An appealing...mix of the zany and the arcane.” (New York Times on Pagan Holiday )

“It’s refreshing to find such an entertaining writer whose history is also meticulously researched. Perrottet’s take on the past is erudite, original and witty -- even, frequently, hilarious.” (Paul Cartledge, Professor of Classics, Cambridge University )

“Tony Perrottet’s sinfully entertaining survey of perversion.” (Salon.com )

“A terrifically funny writer; this history-cum-travelogue is as enjoyable as it is informative and twice as quirky.” (Boston Globe on Pagan Holiday )

“Required reading...a charming popular history of ancient Roman sight-seeing.” (Forbes on Pagan Holiday )

“The Naked Olympics presents the Greeks in all their glory, brutality, and vulgarity. It is a fascinating picture and popular history at its best.” (Norman Cantor, Professor Emeritus, New York University, and author of Antiquity: The Civilization of the Ancient World )

“A fascinating and often humorous look at a world long gone and the tourist culture that has grown up around it. Perrottet’s writing sparkles with descriptions of modern and ancient misadventures.” (Library Journal on Pagan Holiday )

“A whimsical trek through classical history, famous sites and arcane trivia.” (Washington Post on Pagan Holiday )

“Brimming with humor, adventure, anecdotal tidbits, and fascinating historical information.” (Booklist on Pagan Holiday )

“This lively account of the classical Olympics portrays them as “the Woodstock of antiquity,” and claims that the Games, while taken seriously, were also where Greeks gathered for a five-day debauch.” (The New Yorker on The Naked Olympics )

About the Author

A long-term denizen of Manhattan, Tony Perrottet is the author of Pagan Holiday: On the Trail of Ancient Roman Tourists and The Naked Olympics: The True Story of the Ancient Greek Games. His irreverent yet thoroughly researched approach to history has made him a regular contributor to Smithsonian Magazine, CondÉ Nast Traveler, Outside, The Believer, National Geographic Adventure, and the New York Times, with frequent appearances on NPR radio and the History Channel, where he has discussed everything from the Crusades to the birth of disco.


Product Details

  • Hardcover: 256 pages
  • Publisher: It Books; 1 edition (July 1, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0061257281
  • ISBN-13: 978-0061257285
  • Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #148,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The need for perpetual motion has always been Tony Perrottet's most obvious personality disorder. While studying history at Sydney University, the Australian-born Perrottet regularly disappeared hitch-hiking through the Outback, sailing the coast of Sumatra or traveling through rural India (enjoying a brief and inglorious career as a film extra in Rajasthan). After graduation, he moved to South America to work as a "roving correspondent," where he covered the Shining Path war in Peru, drug running in Colombia and several military rebellions in Argentina. A brief visit to Manhattan fifteen years ago convinced him that New York was the ideal place for a rootless wanderer to be based. From his current home in the East Village of Manhattan, he has continued to commute to Iceland, Tierra del Fuego, Wyoming, Tasmania and Zanzibar, while contributing to international publications including the New York Times, Smithsonian Magazine, Conde Nast Traveler, Slate, Esquire, Outside and the London Sunday Times.

Perrottet is the author of five books - a collection of travel stories, Off the Deep End: Travels in Forgotten Frontiers (1997); Pagan Holiday: On the Trail of Ancient Roman Tourists (2002); The Naked Olympics: The True Story of the Greek Games (2004); Napoleon's Privates: 2500 Years of History Unzipped (2008); and The Sinner's Grand Tour: A Journey Through the Historical Underbelly of Europe (2011, Broadway Books). His travel stories have been widely anthologized and have been selected four times for the Best American Travel Writing series. He is also a regular television guest on the History Channel, where he has spoken about everything from the Crusades to the birth of disco.

 

Customer Reviews

27 Reviews
5 star:
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4 star:
 (8)
3 star:
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2 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (27 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An easy and fun read, history fan or not..., July 14, 2008
This review is from: Napoleon's Privates: 2,500 Years of History Unzipped (Hardcover)
Great compilation of interesting tid bits, although some are more appealing than others. As a History major I enjoyed the historical accuracy vs. urban legend aspect of the essays. Most of them did make for great conversation with others and it was fun to throw around some facts about the more absurd, perverse or taboo pieces of world history.

Also I must note that I appreciate that the essays involving homosexual history have no tinge of judgment or repugnance hidden in them (as some other similar collections have). So thank you for that Perrottet.

Good use of references as well, you can tell the author did his research. And it prompted me to pick up some more reading material so I may further delve into some of the topics that Perrottet just touched upon briefly.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars History was never so interesing in school, July 15, 2008
This review is from: Napoleon's Privates: 2,500 Years of History Unzipped (Hardcover)
This book contains over sixty chapters devoted to historical sort of "urban legend" tales involving scandals, sex, body parts or other juicy tidbits that would get most people's attention if you heard it being discussed. Much of it is about famous people, but we also get topics devoted to ideas surrounding sex, such as how it was believed that masturbation caused a long list of physical ailments.

Some of the stories involve Napoleon, Cleopatra, Casanova, popes, Hitler, JFK and other earlier presidents, the practice of castrating young boys in the hopes they'd be famous singers, the birth of the stag movie, syphilis, etc, etc.

In the introduction the author claims to not want to trivialize history, but to bring it to full life. We get the general rumor as well as some actual facts that either debunk or support the tale with sources and further reading suggestions on the subject provided for each chapter, all told in a light-hearted, humorous manner. Most chapters are 2-4 pages in length, so you don't get buried in any one subject. Too bad school history books aren't told in this manner.

I don't think the book is intended to be read cover-to-cover in one sitting, but I found myself getting through over half the book before I started jumping around to look at specific topics I hadn't reached yet. I just know that some of what I've read will be brought up in future conversations.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Sure. It's Good For A Laugh, August 31, 2008
This review is from: Napoleon's Privates: 2,500 Years of History Unzipped (Hardcover)
As one might guess, the prurient stories are the focus of the book; and since they had the author's full attention, they really are very funny. I kept the book by my bed, which was perfect because of the very short articles -- two or three read and I was in slumber land, probably with a small smile.
A couple things an editor should have caught: while his discussion on the accuracy and relevance of the permanent virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is right-on-target, he makes the common error of identifying The Immaculate Conception as the moment when Mary conceived Jesus. Wrong. The Immaculate Conception, in Catholic teaching, is the moment when Mary herself was conceived in her mother's womb, and "enjoyed in advance" the merits of the cross. When Gabriel appeared to Mary and she conceived Jesus is The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (Hey -- sorry if that's Too Much Information.)
On the history of masturbation, he didn't get the sin of Onan exactly right. At the time, Jewish law called for a brother to impregnate his brother's widow. Onan withdrew and failed to honor his responsibility.
Nit-picking aside, the book is a lot of fun; but let me suggest you find it in a library or borrow it from a friend. You'll finish reading it in a few days.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, United States, Civil War, University of Chicago Press, Oxford University Press, Current Status, Marquis de Sade, Palais Royal, White House, Martin's Press, Relic's Journey, Middle Ages, Secret Service, Longwood House, George Washington, Napoleon Unzipped, King Louis, Sistine Chapel, Harvard University Press, First World War, Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium, Elizabeth Abbott, Mount Vernon, Renaissance Italy, Basic Books
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